I've always had a dream to become a writer, or at least a journalist for that matter. My problem is that I can think of quite elaborate and eloquent phrases, but I have no idea what kind of story they will fit into. I mainly think of the details, not the "big picture." So, I just thought of a phrase or an excerpt of a soon-to-be book (hopefully), and if you could please come up with a plot. All I ask is that it is not to be in the fantasy or fiction genre, i.e. do not include magic, shapeshifters, etc.
"The single clap came out lonely, like a shot though the rain in the night. And, as if awoken suddenly, the rest of the spectators jolted to attention, and started clapping as well. One by one, the room got louder and more suffocating as if a wave was washing over the people. And everybody was cheering. And everybody was shouting, a pleasant war of encouragement. And everybody was happy, and everything was good. And everything would be OK."
Thanks.

Not fiction?

Omg, you have a good future in writing. :)

Am I reading this right? You want us to come up with a story for you to write?

I'm a writer as well, not yet published, but a writer none the less. Why would I spend time coming up with a story line for you, for free?

If you can't come up with a story line yourself, you won't be able to write the story. If you can't even do the basics, coming up with the story yourself, even if people gave you millions of ideas, you won't be able to write this book.

Writing is hard. Finding a story that people will want to read, is hard. You have a few sentences, and you expect others to come up with a story based on that? You're dreaming.

I won't write your book for you. If you want to be a writer, you're going to have to come up with the ideas on your own. If you can't do that, you won't be a writer.

Good luck.

No.

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Originally Posted by Alty

Am I reading this right? You want us to come up with a story for you to write?

I'm a writer as well, not yet published, but a writer none the less. Why would I spend time coming up with a story line for you, for free?

If you can't come up with a story line yourself, you won't be able to write the story. If you can't even do the basics, coming up with the story yourself, even if people gave you millions of ideas, you won't be able to write this book.

Writing is hard. Finding a story that people will want to read, is hard. You have a few sentences, and you expect others to come up with a story based on that? You're dreaming.

I won't write your book for you. If you want to be a writer, you're going to have to come up with the ideas on your own. If you can't do that, you won't be a writer.

Good luck.

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I was asking for freaking ideas. Not a whole published book, on the dot, right here, right now. And for your information, I have a poem published in a book. So what does that make me compared to you? Jesus Christ, cool the hell down. Why don't you go back to being that narcissistic pet expert everybody so dearly loves?

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Originally Posted by ZombieCow

I was asking for freaking ideas. Not a whole published book, on the dot, right here, right now. And for your information, I have a poem published in a book. So what does that make me compared to you? Jesus Christ, cool the hell down. Why don't you go back to being that narcissistic pet expert everybody so dearly loves?

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Narcissistic? Where did you come up with that?

If you can't even accurately read people, how do you expect to write about them, fact or fiction?

You're asking for a plot, based on a few sentences you wrote.

I hit a nerve. You realize that you're not a writer, because you need others in order to come up with a story, you can't do it yourself. That's when I became the narcissistic pet expert. Instead of dealing with the truth, you lashed out.

I get it. It's sad, but I do get it.

If you don't want fiction, it will have to be non-fiction. Is that what you want to write?

If non-fiction, your sentences could be at the end of an essay about a political rally.

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Originally Posted by ZombieCow

Go take care of your kids, mom.

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Actually, as Alty's editor, I will attest to the fact that she IS an excellent storyteller and writer.

As a writer who HAS written a story based entirely around a single sentence, I can tell you that it won't work. Building a plot around a single sentence or paragraph just makes the entire story seem forced and disjointed. You spend the entire time working up to making sure that you can make that one excerpt fit, and everything else suffers for it.

Now, that is all assuming that you HAVE a plot. You don't. You want someone else to come up with a plot, based on a couple sentences, that you can build a story around, with the assumed goal of selling books. There is more than one thing wrong with that.

If someone does offer you a plot, I am absolutely sure you will give them no credit. If, by some miracle, you do manage to sell any books, they would have every right to sue you for part of the profits. This thread would be proof that you purposely and deliberately sought out someone else to provide you with material that you could then pass off as your own.

Being able to write a good sentence is NOT the same as being able to write a good book. If you can't even come up with a plot on your own, you're not going to be able to write one worth reading, no matter how good a premise you manage to get off someone else. Unless you know the histories and motivations and dynamics of the characters and world you are creating, you won't be able to write them well.

I have a poem published in a book, too. It's not hard to accomplish. Personally, I don't see my one published poem as any testament to my writing ability. I am much prouder of the several stories I've published online, including one novel length story and another novel length series.

I can tell you as a writer, and more importantly as a READER, that it's very easy to tell when an author is forcing a story to go in an unnatural direction just to include some insignificant element they've grown overly attached to.

Just about everyone who makes it to a college gets some of their poetry published. I have three or four languishing on the shelves of a couple of different schools' back issues storage.

The image you put up here sounds very similar to the book versions of a couple of different movie plots: Mr. Smith goes to Washington and Rudy. Be very careful that you're not ripping somebody else off. Phrases and images can be memory instead of inspiration.

Phrases and images are what you need after you find an idea to talk about. That has to come from you.